Which Rewards Programs Are Your Favorite?

Many MS'ers find value in shops where they can earn points besides payment and/or reimbursement for the shops. What are your favorites and why?

Off the top of my head, here are some categories...

1) hotels, resorts, motels

2) airlines

3) rental cars

4) credit cards

5) store cards

I'm sure that I am forgetting s few. Feel free to add your own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

I like my BOA Visa card. I earn 3% on gas, 2% on groceries, and 1% on everything else. Since I use a lot of gas for my FT job in addition to my MS job and I perform bi-monthly grocery shops, the extra points (which is actually cash for this card) adds up. Plus a 10% customer bonus when you redeem your rewards into a BOA checking or savings account. Oh ya, no annual fee.

I just signed up for the Ritz Carlton rewards program so I'm not real familiar with it yet. I think they are associated with the Marriott chains but I am not 100%.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Ritz doesn't fall under Marriott's umbrella...you would know
because their program is named "Marriott Rewards" and is
used at all of their brands...

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
A Visa which has a gas station logo. It accrues points quickly at that brand of gas station if you use the loyalty card with the credit card at the pump. You get 10 points per gallon on loyalty card at that station & 10 points per dollar for fuel on credit card, even if you are buying it from another brand station. You get double and triple points for retail stores and dining. I collect the points and cash them in for Amazon, food, fuel cards, retail stores or prepaid credit cards when ever I need to get presents for the kids or grandkids. Last year I redeemed enough points for 8 $50 Visas, 6 $25 Visa, 4 $25 restaurant cards & 1 $100 fuel card. They offer about 75 different cards for almost anything you can imagine. It's a nice freebie and easy gift giving. Unfortunately, the brand is only available in the Midwest.
@ cindy55 ~ I liked your post until the last line. "Unfortunately, the brand is only available in the Midwest." I'm in the southeast. :-(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
@ techman01 ~

"Members of The Ritz-Carlton Rewards have access to extraordinary benefits while enjoying the award-winning service they’ve come to expect. Additionally, through our partnership with Marriott Rewards, we offer even greater opportunities to earn and redeem points for stays at The Ritz-Carlton and more than 3,300 Marriott family of participating hotels worldwide. Paid nights at both Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels count toward elite status in The Ritz-Carlton Rewards.

Wherever you stay, you can be assured that your membership and its benefits will be recognized."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
techman,
I just signed on to my Marriott rewards account. At the bottom of the home page it asks that viewers check out their other brands, which include Ritz Carlton. When I do RC shops the points post to my Marriott rewards account.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Yes you can cross earn points among many programs...marriott
allows you to do so with airlines, rentals etc. Many loyalty programs
do that now. Purpose of that is in theory, if you keep all your points under
one program, then you can reedem faster for your preferred brand.
These days you can fly american airlines, and earn points in jetblue's
loyalty program if you want or I can rent a car with hertz and earn
points on holiday inn's program...

With that said, it doesn't mean they are owned, operated or in any
other way related to each other besides cross promotion...

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
techman,
As it happens, RC is a subsidiary of Marriott.
"The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is the parent company to the luxury hotel chain, The Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Ritz-Carlton operates 81 luxury hotels and resorts in major cities and resorts in 26 countries worldwide.[2]

The current company was founded in 1983, when the brand was bought from the previous owners to start The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., based in Atlanta, Georgia, which began expansion of the brand to other locations. The hotel company is today a subsidiary of Marriott International."

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
walesmaven...

and despite them buying the majority stake in the company
it continues to operate independently of the marriott brand
as it has done for the last 15 years...

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
"With that said, it doesn't mean they are owned, operated or in any
other way related to each other besides cross promotion..."

Perhaps this should of been worded differently to speak in a more
general sense and not of the Ritz-Marriott relationship which is
alittle bit different since they own the majority stake.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
I'm happy with American Express and their Starwood rewards, they use Sheraton hotels, and that's been easier than actually shopping a hotel. I get about four free every year and have never been disappointed. This is my only credit card, although I am getting good info. here for starting another.

Live consciously....
I'm a huge fan of Hilton HHonors. Back when I was a business traveler they were my company's preferred provider and I guess I'm just still addicted. Those days I stayed there so often I could have been top tier on 2 accounts, now I still can seem to be able to maintain at least silver most years, and can often find bonus codes that'll give me gold and/or tons of points.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
For Hotels: Marriott Rewards offers the best points/nights reedeeming
and earning ratio, so I prefer theirs over the others currently.

Hilton's HHonors is being revamped and it increases the points required
for rooms so they move down my list now.

IC's(Holiday Inn etc) new rewards club im still evaluating as it hasn't
been fully rolled out yet so what they claim what is reality has yet to
be determined.

For Car Rentals: Hertz is the most generous with points, frequently offering
bonus points and multiplers when you rent and easy no blackout date redemption
However, hertz is not always the cheapest to rent, so I give Enterprise the runner up
award.

For Airlines: Domestically, I prefer jetblue and their frequent bonus promotions.
Over the last 12 months I have flown 8 times for free under their reward program.
Internationally, I prefer AA as it still offers ok rewards though all of the international
airlines have cutback with Delta's new policy terrible.

Credit Cards: it depends what you want to earn, all brands offer branded cards...
marriot offers a great credit card for earning points...if you want generic cash back
BoA's card like Ship2love has is good.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody
techman01 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Credit Cards: it depends what you want to earn,
> all brands offer branded cards...
> marriot offers a great credit card for earning
> points...if you want generic cash back
> BoA's card like Ship2love has is good.


Ship2love, huh? Ok, wisea$$man, two can play at this game. :-P

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Are we only talking about credit cards here? I only use my costco card (American Express) which gives me 3% on gas, 2% on travel and food and 1% on everything else. This week they sent me a $50 off at Capitol Grill no minimum purchase...pretty sure I cannot use it on a shop but I will ask. I get cash and purchase what i want with it. I like it simple without various choices to worry about. I am too busy worrying about store rewards cards:

Through shopping I found the Landry's card (Chart House where I live mostly). $25 to sign up and you get $25 for your bday and for each $250 you spend at the restaurant another $25 gift card. Double points on Mondays so 2 shops and you have $25.

I also have the CostPlus/ World Market card...the shop does not reimburse much but 6 bags of coffee and you get one free. Double points on wednesdays so 3 bags and one free. They send me coupons too. $10 on my bday...free shipping around Christmas and lots of sales. Great International food and stuff.
My favorites are the Hilton Amex rewards and the Amtrak Mastercard rewards programs. The Hilton Amex rewards card now provides better rewards for groceries and gasoline purchases than my cash back BoA card. And, I do a lot of Hilton shops. Those points turn into thousands of dollars worth of free Hilton nights per year for me.

The Amtrak rewards program really piles up enough points for a round trip in any one of the county's 3 regions quite fast. And, when you first get the card, a few charges to it yields enough points for a one region round trip.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Chase offers better rewards and you accumulate points very fast. The point value vs reward is also better at least better than Discover and American Express point system. Bank of America is also good and the cash back accumulates very fast especially on everyday spending such as groceries and gas.

Gold Certified
Shopping in San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles
ntony9 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Chase offers better rewards and you accumulate
> points very fast. The point value vs reward is
> also better at least better than Discover and
> American Express point system. Bank of America is
> also good and the cash back accumulates very fast
> especially on everyday spending such as groceries
> and gas.

While ms'ing Chase, I found out I could get $400 bonus for signing up for the Sapphire Preferred card. Several bankers told me to keep it for one year and downgrade to Sapphire regular to avoid the $95 annual fee. I got the $400 bonus in various gift cards. I avoided foreign transaction fee with that card when I ms'ed Jamaica for 7 days.

Not my circus - Not my monkeys @(*.*)@

~Polish Proverb~
OP EDIT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2014 03:18PM by Shop2LiveinFL.
As for hotels, I belong to the SPG program thru Ritz Carlton. I have received points while performing shops but I am still at the basic level. I will be performing a Marriott shop this month. When I tried to register with their rewards program, it said that I was already a member. I called the CS # and they confirmed that the SPG does earn points at Marriott so my SPG # was automatically applied. (Read Techman01 and Walesmaven's posts above regarding the RC/Marriott debate.)

Does anyone else have any updates or new information on rewards programs?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
GAS----Chase freedom has 5% cash back 6 months out of the year (Jan-March and July-Sept)

BOA americard has 3% back gas 2% grocery (including Walmarts which other cards dont count) and 1% everything else (including utility bills!)

With Gas I also use BP drivers rewards which gives at least an extra 5 cents a gallon plus you can use any credit card to pay. (3-5% on top)

The best rewards last year were American Express Sync rewards.

For the last few months of 2013 they were giving $5 back for each $25 gas purchase at BP stations (Yes, 20% cash back plus you could also use driver rewards on top!) Unlimited purchases!

Hope they bring that back!
I can't do anything BP since the company effed up so badly in our Gulf. They didn't care about the livelihoods of the locals nor of the lives of the wildlife. I'll never give them another penny.

I remain a Marriott fan since achieving Platinum Elite Lifetime status a couple of years back. Starwood's plan is also quite good.
I noticed one company refunds the charges on your credit card if you stay at Marriott. Does that mean the rewards are gone as well?
I can't say for Marriott but I have been able to keep all my points for RC. And I have earned points on my Visa credit card which were not taken away once the charges were refunded. Double bonus for me. :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
I have done about 6 Marriott shops for various MSCs in the past 2 months. Several of the folio charges were reversed in about mid-March. To date, none of my rewards points have been deducted. I am keeping a close watch on that account becasue the affiliated credit card had a recurring charge that I disputed, and then had to dispute again each month for three months. When those charges were reversed, the 16 points per charge were quite promptly taken off of my Marriott rewards points.

I will certainly update this thread if it turns out that the reversed charges for the Marriott folio amounts result in points being subtracted from my rewards account. But, so far, so good.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I've done about the same as wales and have seen the same results. All the points from the stay are still on my account.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
Warning: This User Has Been Banned or Is No Longer Active
bgriffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm a huge fan of Hilton HHonors. Back when I was
> a business traveler they were my company's
> preferred provider and I guess I'm just still
> addicted. Those days I stayed there so often I
> could have been top tier on 2 accounts, now I
> still can seem to be able to maintain at least
> silver most years, and can often find bonus codes
> that'll give me gold and/or tons of points.


Hi! Just wanted to ask how these bonus codes work? Where does one find them? I just completed a Hilton shop and it was accepted (!!!!!!) and I am all into the idea of doing more such shops and racking up some points. This is why I am asking where one find these codes. Thanks for any advice!
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login